Wedge heel shoe



Jan. 13, 1942. F. R. MERRITT 2,269,542

WEDGE HEEL SHOE Filed Sept. 10, 1940 2 SheebS -Sheet l Jan. 13, 1942. F, R, MERRITT 2,269,542

WEDGE HEEL SHOE Filed Sept. 10, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 13, 1942 UNI-T EDE STAT ES; FATE emer- WEDGE-HEEL SHOE Frank. R. Merritt, .Haverhill, Mass, .assignor to. United Shoe Machinery Corporation,,.Flemington, N. J a corporation of New Jersey H Anplicaticngseptember.10, 1940-, Serial- No; 356 172 i 4 Claims Thisinvention relates to the so-called wedge a well-constructed and neatappearing welt shoeembodying a wedge' heelandxto produce such a shoe by'a series of simple-operations not beyond the skill. of the averageoperator in ashoe fac-' tory.. With such objects in mind, theinvention provides a welt shoe having aribbed insole and an upper lasted-to the :rib. A wedge-heel cover is secured .-.at one edgeto the upper and-insole and at. the other edge to a partial insole which underlies the wedge heel and extends from'the heel end of the shoe to the ball line, the wedge heel beingthus confined .between'the insolathe heel cover,'and thepartial insole. A welt is secured to the rib of the insole at theforepart and to the rib of the partial insoleat the shank and heel, and,'to this welt, the outsole isattached. The invention also provides a simpleand efiicient method of manufacturing shoes of the character above referred to.

The invention will .be betterunderstood-when considered with relation to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is aperspective view of the 'insole to be incorporated ina shoe embodying the invention;

Fig.2 is .a perspective viewof the shoe after it has been lasted and. the-wedge=heelcover has been stitched on;

Fig.3 is a perspective -view of the-partial insole;

Fig. 4 shows the wedge :heel

Fig.5 FShOWSthB heel end of the shoe after the of a last *L in the usual manner-, and-anrupper id 'aft'er having been assembled and 'pulleddover; 1 is lastedto the--ribl2 according "to any-ofthe conventional methods; As illustrated, the'lastingmargin" [8 of the upper is secured in 'lasted position 'tothe ribllZ of the-insole at the sides and around'the heel portionby'means of staples l6. Lasting of the toe end of the 'shoe may advantageously be-=doneon amachine oi the-bed type; the upper -'being-temporarily secured 5 inlastedposition by a toe wire he1din placeby anchor-tacks 22.

The-wedgeheelcover- 24 comprises a piece of upper material of a width somewhat greater than theheight of the wedge heel and equal m length" to the periphery 'of theheela' The cover is' laid wrong-side out about the heel "end ofthe shoe with its margin 26*- approximately "-coincident" withthe-edgeof-the-rib -l2, and is then secured heel coverhas. beenlaisted to the -false---insole may be of any of the conventional types ordinarily employed in welt shoes,-it being provided with an upstanding rib [2 which extends all the way about the-periph'eryof the sale including the heel seat. This insole is tacked to the bottom to the-upper'and therib-b'yaseam of stitches' 28.

Thesti-tching operation may conveniently be performed on a usual welt'and turn sewing machine; the -we1ti-ng of course-being omitted. As illustrated-in Fig. 2; it will be noted that-the ends of the cover extend at least'to 'the --ball"line of the shoe, so thatthe cover will completely con-- ceal the heel block when it is incorporated in "the shoe.

The above operations having been completed,- the shoe-is prepared -toreceive a wedge heel 30 suchas that illustrated in Fig.4; Inorder to insure that the wedge heel will he firmly on the I bottom-of the shoe, -the-inseam 32 formed bythe rib,-the lasting margin l8 "of the upperand the bottom margin" 26 of the cover must first be trimmed off so as to forma-surface upon which" the wedge --is to rest; Preferably the tr imming will be efiected along aiinebelow thestaplesdfi and'above the stitching-'28. Forreasonslater tobe explained; it is desirablethatthe rear ends of the portion of the rib .l2 at the forepartof'the shoe which is -left -untrimmedshould be cut off abruptly; and this may beconveniently done when the shankand heel portions-of the inseam 32 are trimmed.

The trimming operation 'having' been-com pleted; a thinlayer of "filling-materialsuch as ground cork may be "applied to "the-shank and heel portions'of theinsole to form 'a flat surface upon which the wedge 30 1s then'laid in-proper position; It may be notedh'ere thatthe wedge heel 30 has substantiallythe same peripheral contour -as the 'heel; end- 0f the insole and is approximatelythe samesize as that portionpfthe insole although it may be made slightly larger.

The wedge heel 30 having been positioned and secured to the shoe, for example, by cement, the shoe is ready to receive a partial insole 34. This partial insole is substantially identical with the heel and shank portions of the insole If), it being cut off approximately at the ball line so that its forward edge is substantially flush with the forward edge 36 of the wedge heel. The forward edge 38 of the partial insole may advantageously be beveled as at 39 so that it will join the insole l0 smoothly without making an irregularity in the shoe bottom, and so that the ends of the rib 40 of the partial insole will abut the rear ends of the rib I2 at the ball line, as shown in Fig. 5. The partial insole is incorporated in the shoe by placing it on the under side of the wedge, that is, the top side of the wedge when the shoe is upside down, as in Fig. 2, and securing it to the wedge either by tacks or cement. Care should be taken that the peripheral contours of the partial insole 34 and of the wedge heel 30 correspond as closely as possible, so that the two are substantially coextensive. With the partial insole in this position, the cover 24 is turned upwardly and is secured in lasted position to the rib 4!) of the partial insole by any convenient means such as the staples 42. It will be noted that since the forward ends of the rib 40 and the rearward ends of the rib l2 of the insole ID at the forepart are alined with each other, a continuous rib will be provided which extends about the entire periphery of the shoe, the junction of the rib 40 and of the rib l2 being made smooth by abutting the rib ends as pointed out previously.

When drawn upwardly and lasted to the rib, in the condition illustrated in Fig. 5, the cover 24 is turned right-side-out and thus neatly conceals the entire wedge heel. In addition to its function in concealing the heel, this cover also forms part of a pocket composed of the cover, the heel and shank portion of the insole I0, and the partial insole 34 in which pocket the heel is tightly confined. It is thus made certain that the wedge heel will not slip but will remain firmly anchored in the position in which it was initially placed. The shoe is now ready for welting and in this operation a welt 44 is secured to the rib 40 of the partial insole at the shank and heel of the shoe and to the rib l2 of the insole l0 at the forepart by stitching 46. The shoe may then be completed in the manner usual in making welt shoes by attaching an outsole 48 to the welt 44. If desired, a thin piece of wear-resistant material 50 may be secured to the heel end of the sole better to protect it against wear.

By thus confining the wedge heel 3B in the pocket, there is produced a neat appearing and well-constructed welted shoe of the wedge heel type and one having a sole which is substantially flat except for the thin heel piece 58. Such a shoe will be found to be durable and superior to types of wedge heel shoes now being made.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A shoe comprising a full length insole having a rib, an upper lasted to said rib, a shank and heel wedge, a wedge cover having its upper margin stitched to said upper and rib, a partial insole substantially coextensive'with and underlying said wedge, said partial insole terminating at the forward extremity of said wedge and having a rib extending from one side of its forward til end around the heel portion to the forward end of the insole at the other side, the lower margin of said cover being stitched to said rib of the partial insole, and an outsole secured to the shoe.

2. A shoe comprising a full length insole having a sewing rib extending entirely around its margin, an upper lasted to said rib, a shank and heel wedge, a wedge cover having its upper margin secured to said upper and said rib by inseam stitches, said cover and the portions of said upper and said rib in the heel and shank of the shoe being trimmed close to the inseam and said wedge being seated upon the edges of said trimmed inseamed materials, a partial insole underlying and substantially coextensive with said wedge and having a marginal sewing rib extending from one side of its forward end around the heel portion to the forward end at its other side, the forward ends of said rib being alined withv the rib on said full length insole, a welt extending entirely around the bottom of the shoe, a continuous line of inseam stitches securing the rear portion of said welt together with the lower margin of said cover to the rib of said partial insole and securing the forward portion of said welt together with said upper to the rib of the full length insole, and an outsole stitched to said welt.

3. That improvement in methods of making wedge heel shoes which comprises providing a full length insole having a sewing rib extending about its entire periphery, lasting an upper to said rib, laying a wedge heel cover wrong-side-out upon said upper rearwardly of the ball line and securing the margin of said cover by means of inseam stitches to said upper and rib, trimming the inseamed materials rearwardly of the ball line but leaving the insole rib and upper untrimmed forwardly thereof, laying a wedge heel upon the trimmed inseamed materials and securing said heel in place, securing to said heel a partial insole substantially coextensive with the heel, turning the wedge heel cover right-side-out and securing it in place to cover the edges of the wedge heel and said partial insole, and securing an outsole to the shoe.

4. That improvement in methods of making welted wedge heel shoes which comprises providing a full length insole having a sewing rib extending about its entire periphery, lasting an upper to said rib, laying a wedge heel cover wrongside-out upon said upper rearwardly of the ball line and securing the margin of said cover by means of inseam stitches to said upper and rib, making cuts extending inwardly from the edge of said rib approximately at the ball line at opposite sides of the shoe bottom, trimming the inseamed materials rearwardly of said cuts but leaving the insole rib and upper untrimmed forwardly of said cuts, laying a wedge heel upon the trimmed inseamed materials and securing said heel in place, providing a partial insole substantially coextensive with said heel and having a sewing rib extending about the rear and sides of its periphery, securing said partial insole to said heel with the forward extremities of said rib abutting the cut rear ends of the rib of said full length insole, turning said wedge heel cover right-side-out and securing it, together with a welt, to the rib of the partial insole at the shank and heel portion of the shoe and securing said welt to the rib of the full length insole at the forepart of the shoe, and attaching an outsole to said welt.

, FRANK R. MERRITT. 

